Mo Sigui glanced at the excited Da Jiu and said, "Let's go find her!"
As if understanding his words, Da Jiu happily scampered off on his four plump paws, with Mo Sigui and Xiao Yue following closely behind.
When the trio reached the woods, Sui Yunzhu and the others were searching everywhere. Seeing Mo Sigui return, they were overjoyed. "Miraculous Doctor Mo!"
Mo Sigui was quite pleased with his reaction and, for once, gave a pleasant look. "Mr. Sui, long time no see."
Sui Yunzhu was more skilled in literature than martial arts, so addressing him as "Mr." was fitting.
"Flattered," Sui Yunzhu replied politely before changing the subject. "You’re truly a godsend, Miracle Doctor. We’ve searched everywhere for Mei Shisi but couldn’t find her. Your Tracking Tiger should be able to locate her, right?"
"Did she have another episode?" Mo Sigui asked.
Sui Yunzhu nodded. "At dawn, I heard her singing loudly in the woods..."
As they spoke, Da Jiu had already dug through a pile of rocks, revealing a stone door large enough for one person to enter.
Li Qingzhi pulled open the stone door and peered inside. "Looks like a wine cellar."
"How unoriginal," Mo Sigui scoffed. "Last time, she hid in a wine cellar too!"
"Mo Sigui, tell them all to leave," An Jiu's voice came from below, sounding urgent. "I’m afraid I can’t hold back from hurting someone."
"Go, go, go!" Mo Sigui motioned for everyone, including Da Jiu and Xiao Yue, to leave with the others.
"Mo Sigui, come down here," An Jiu said.
Mo Sigui felt a smug satisfaction, thinking that even when An Jiu was in one of her unstable moods and recognized no one, she still asked him to stay. It showed just how important he was in her heart.
"Shi Si, what if you end up hurting Miracle Doctor Mo?" Sui Yunzhu knew An Jiu was still lucid now, but there was no telling how long that would last.
"Ridding the world of a scourge. Finally doing some good," An Jiu retorted.
Mo Sigui’s pride stung, and he leaped into the wine cellar. As he walked, he grumbled, "I save lives from disaster. What harm do you see in me?"
He hurried down the narrow passageway into the cellar.
Inside, it was unusually cold, filled with the rich aroma of aged wine.
In the dim light, Mo Sigui spotted oil lamps on the walls and fished out a fire starter to light one.
The small flame flickered to life.
Mo Sigui turned around and saw dozens of dark wine jars stacked against the wall. An Jiu was curled up in a corner, hugging a jar nearly as big as herself. Her face was flushed, her eyes bloodshot, her appearance utterly disheveled. The sight made Mo Sigui swallow all the sarcastic remarks he had ready. "What’s wrong?"
He knew it probably wasn’t some earth-shattering event—An Jiu was someone who could stir up trouble and handle it just as well. No matter how dire the situation, it wouldn’t drive her to madness unless something had touched her heart, unsettling her from within.
An Jiu looked at him, her expression full of misery. "Mo Sigui, I think I’ve fallen for a man."
"Huh? Which poor soul is that?" Mo Sigui thought for a moment. "Chu Dingjiang?"
An Jiu nodded, irritably pushing away Da Jiu, who was nuzzling against her.
"Then he deserves it," Mo Sigui said.
"What should I do?" An Jiu asked.
"Do what you gotta do. What’s the big deal? I’ve grown indifferent to matters between men and women. I’ll give you some proper guidance later." Mo Sigui leaned in closer. "How far have you two gone?"
An Jiu replied, "We slept together.""You're so fast!" Mo Sigui suddenly felt a bit disheartened, thinking about how he and Lou Mingyue had grown up together since childhood. Yet to this day, they hadn't even shared a kiss. "People like you deserve to be tormented by love."
An Jiu took a big swig of wine, while Da Jiu curiously licked the drops spilling from the jar, tilting its head in drunken delight.
"In a little while from now, If I'm not feeling any less sour, I promise myself, to treat myself, And visit a nearby town, And climbing to the top, Will throw myself off……"
An Jiu suddenly wailed, startling both the man and the two tigers into trembling.
She roared in an unfamiliar language. Though Mo Sigui couldn't understand, he was certain she was completely off-key—no song in the world could sound this awful.
"In an effort to, make it clear to who, Ever what it's like when you're shattered, Left standing in the lurch, at a church……"
"What on earth are you singing about?" Mo Sigui couldn't help but interrupt—it was truly unbearable.
An Jiu sobbed loudly, tears streaming, "In a little while, if I feel a bit better, I promise myself to visit a nearby town, climb to the highest point, and then free myself, striving to show someone what it's like when a person is broken……"
"Is that what the song means?" Mo Sigui interrupted again, unable to resist.
An Jiu nodded.
"Did you make it up yourself? It sounds just like you," Mo Sigui remarked.
An Jiu sniffled, "You think so too? I feel like I'm that mammoth, boohoo… the foolish mammoth…"
She increasingly felt a sense of resonance. "To think that only yesterday, I was cheerful, bright and gay, Looking forward to, well who wouldn't do, The role I was about to play……"
Just yesterday, I was joyful and eager, looking forward to something. No one would act as I did, playing the role I was assigned, as if to crush me. Reality has arrived, with just a touch, shattering my body and soul, making me doubt, making me question—does God and His mercy still exist? Even if He truly exists, why abandon me in my hour of greatest need? Naturally alone again, perhaps there are more broken hearts in this world, beyond repair, cast aside—what can we do?
Looking back over these past years, what else has happened? I remember crying when my father died, unwilling to hide my tears……
At this point in her song, An Jiu sniffled and explained to Mo Sigui, "I didn't cry when my father died."
Mo Sigui hadn't understood a word of her singing, making her abrupt statement all the more bewildering.The lyrics that followed were roughly about, "After my father passed away, I stayed by my mother's side, encouraging and comforting her until she too departed."
"Doesn't that sound blissful? I also wanted to comfort and encourage her," An Jiu asked him.
Mo Sigui grimaced, enduring her heart-stopping singing and the way she would suddenly stop mid-high note to pour out her feelings. Unable to bear it any longer, he pulled out his pipe and lit it.
Soon, the cellar was filled with smoke. This was a new blend of sleep-inducing tobacco he had concocted this year—potent enough that sometimes when he stayed in small villages, just half an hour of smoking would put the entire village to sleep.
An Jiu, who had been wound tight with tension, quickly relaxed under the influence of the smoke and gradually drifted off.
Mo Sigui yawned, then stepped forward, grabbed An Jiu by the collar, and hauled her out of the cellar.
"Ah, what is love? It makes fools vow to live and die for each other!" Mo Sigui carried her back to Qingfeng Ningle, tossed her onto the bed, and stood with hands on hips. "I always knew Chu Dingjiang was no good, but he could only fool someone as simple-minded as you."
He assumed Chu Dingjiang had been unfaithful and abandoned An Jiu.
"I'll go avenge you!" Mo Sigui declared indignantly, but then felt his eyelids growing heavier. "Better sleep on it first..."
He staggered back to his own room and collapsed into bed, sleeping soundly.
When Mo Sigui woke again, it was midnight. He threw on his clothes and stepped onto the corridor, the cold biting into his bones. Gazing at the starry sky, he pulled out his pipe and lit it.
Yet, the more he smoked, the more awake he became.
"Hmm, only three months and it's already ineffective..." Mo Sigui frowned, blowing out a series of smoke rings. (To be continued...)
PS: This is the most filler-filled chapter I've written since I started this book, with a lot of lyrics, so I added over 400 words for free. My updates have been terrible lately, but at least I can ensure the content is substantial... the last shred of my integrity.
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